Dear Friends.

As you know a crucial global warming conference is about to take place in
Paris, Dec of this year.

In the past such meeting have been damp squibs, as nations have not been
able to figure out how we can provide a western style of life for all
inhabitants of this planet, without recourse to coal and oil. (The West
would like to preserve their present way of life, while the East would like
to catch up).

One crucial issue is how are we going to feed ourselves without depending
on the massive amount of fossil energy that powers our agriculture.

One possibility is to depend on local agriculture, rather than a system
where food is transported long distances.

The question is how efficiently can this be done? Can modern technology
help in this matter? Evidently, to feed humans on the Moon and on Mars (and
in rotating space habs), where food cannot be carted long distances, we
will have to focus on this issue.

I am not able to find sharp details on how farms will operate on the Moon
and on Mars. How waste will be recycled to keep the cycle going.

Some general stuff can be found:
One estimate suggested a 0.5 hectare space farm could *feed* 100 *people*.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon

I would be grateful if members of this forum can direct me to credible
scientific resource on this subject.

Thanks

Selvaraj

As you know a crucial global warming conference is about to take place in Paris, Dec of this year.
In the past such meeting have been damp squibs, as nations have not been able to figure out how we can provide a western style of life for all inhabitants of this planet, without recourse to coal and oil. (The West would like to preserve their present way of life, while the East would like to catch up).
One crucial issue is how are we going to feed ourselves without depending on the massive amount of fossil energy that powers our agriculture.
One possibility is to depend on local agriculture, rather than a system where food is transported long distances.
The question is how efficiently can this be done? Can modern technology help in this matter? Evidently, to feed humans on the Moon and on Mars (and in rotating space habs), where food cannot be carted long distances, we will have to focus on this issue.
I am not able to find sharp details on how farms will operate on the Moon and on Mars. How waste will be recycled to keep the cycle going.
Some general stuff can be found:
One estimate suggested a 0.5 hectare space farm could
feed
100
people
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon
I would be grateful if members of this forum can direct me to credible scientific resource on this subject.
Thanks
Selvaraj

Interesting!

Agriculture is going to be the Achilles heel, whether we are talking of
human habitation in space or sustainable human presence on planet Earth.
The normal design principle is to tackle the difficult aspects of a problem
first. (Unfortunately there is no Nobel Prize in Agriculture??).

Biosphere 2 was an adventurous experiment in this direction (borrowing
perhaps from the permaculture movement).

Regards,
Selvaraj

On 22 October 2015 at 15:35, donray40@... [spacesettlers] <
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
> Have a look at,
> Green Antarctica: Station greenhouses produce fresh food, feel-good
> environments
> Green Antarctica: Station greenhouses produce fresh food, feel-good
> environments
> Green Antarctica: Station greenhouses produce fresh food, feel-good
> environments - SpaceRef
> View on www.spaceref.com
>
> Preview by Yahoo
>
> It is my opinion that, in any serious colonization effort, agricultural
> habs must be given first priority, then start building apartments or what
> have you. In an energy rich environment it should not be difficult to
> reach high efficiencies. A lot of things that come from petroleum sources
> can also be manufactured from bio-oils,
>
> epoxies etc.
>
> Regards
>
> Don
>

Agriculture is going to be the Achilles heel, whether we are talking of human habitation in space or sustainable human presence on planet Earth. The normal design principle is to tackle the difficult aspects of a problem first. (Unfortunately there is no Nobel Prize in Agriculture??).
Biosphere 2 was an adventurous experiment in this direction (borrowing perhaps from the permaculture movement).
Regards,
Selvaraj
On 22 October 2015 at 15:35,
donray40@...
[spacesettlers]
<
spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
>

Have a look at,
Green Antarctica: Station greenhouses produce fresh food, feel-good environments
Green Antarctica: Station greenhouses produce fresh food, feel-good environments
Green Antarctica: Station greenhouses produce fresh food, feel-good environments - SpaceRef
View on
www.spaceref.com
Preview by Yahoo
It is my opinion that, in any serious colonization effort, agricultural habs must be given first priority, then start building apartments or what have you. In an energy rich environment it should not be difficult to reach high efficiencies. A lot of things that come from petroleum sources can also be manufactured from bio-oils,
epoxies etc.
Regards
Don